Devil's Hole State Park

Devil's Hole State Park overlooks the Devil's Hole Rapids on the Niagara River and includes picnic areas, scenic overlooks, hiking trails, fishing access, and a rock staircase leading to the base of the gorge and the Devil's Hole Trail. In 1763, after the British victory in the French and Indian War, Native Americans under Pontiac, an Ottawa leader, mobilized against British power in the Upper Great Lakes region, and the Niagara Portage became a vital route for British supplies and troops. Here on September 13, 1763, Senecas supporting Pontiac's Rebellion attacked a convoy of wagons and escorting soldiers, destroying the wagons, drivers, and escort and forcing many into the gorge; another company of British soldiers coming to investigate was also destroyed about a mile north, seriously delaying British efforts to end the rebellion. The area also preserves a much older natural history: approximately 11,000 years ago, glacial Lake Algonquin drained through the Trent River Passage until rising land redirected water through early Lake Erie and the Niagara River, carving this section of the gorge, and Devil's Hole itself is a side gorge left by a waterfall that once drained glacial Lake Tonawanda into the main gorge before the outlet dried up.

Lewiston, New York · United States